After a hiatus from January's Wall Street panel discussion, Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) Chairman Wayne Smith returned to the moderator's seat for today’s Health Care Council "Financing the Deal" event, where he warmed up the crowd by asking panelists if they would finance the deal for him to buy HCA.

While we're all still waiting for that answer, panelists did tell the crowd that solutions aimed at coordinated care are what's attracting investor attention.

Ralph Davis, a partner at Cressey & Company, said that the private investment firm is "more excited" about those companies that are focused on managing care across silos rather than focusing on care in one silo.

James McLain, a senior vice president at New York-based Brown Brothers Harriman, echoed the statement, saying the firm is looking for companies that are "attacking problems" like care coordination — where payors will go — rather than sector specific companies.

For those of you who weren't able to attend, here are a few top-line takeaways:

Expect 2013 to be a banner year for healthcare IPOs. According to panelists, the queue is building, and could be the biggest it has been in over 10 years.

From an investor perspective, said Davis, the one thing that's still missing is a solid clinical discussion around what is a quality outcome. Everyone's looking for quality, and everyone's doing it, but we need a more disciplined approach to quality.

Cross-generational mentoring from management teams matters to investors. The panelists agreed that it's important to see CEOs not only surrounding themselves with good peer talent, but also surround themselves with junior executives who can lead.

Industries:

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